The invention relates to a security system, especially for verifying the authenticity of security documents, consisting of a security element and a verification element which make concealed information visible by flat contact one with the other, and corresponding security elements, verification elements and security documents. The invention further relates to methods and apparatus for reading out concealed information.
Documents, certificates, banknotes, identity cards, plastic cards etc. can be reproduced faithfully in detail and colourfast with the aid of modern high-resolution colour scanners and using colour laser printers or thermal sublimation printers. As a result of the general availability of colour copiers, it has also become substantially easier to produce high-quality forgeries.
There is thus a need to make documents, identity cards, banknotes, security papers, plastic cards etc. secure against forgery by means of additionally applied security features. By means of such security features it can at least be accomplished that the production of a high-quality forgery is substantially more expensive. Water marks, silk threads, intricate line structures and the use of special papers are known as such security features. The application of metallised embossed holograms on bank notes, credit cards and Eurocheque cards has also become generally used in the meantime.
WO 98/15418 discloses a self-verifying security document which carries information at one location which is not generally recognisable under normal examination. At another location on the document there is applied a verification element which by folding the security document can be brought into register with the security element bearing the concealed information so that the concealed information becomes visible. It is described that, for example, text written in microscript in the security element is magnified with the aid of an optical lens as verification element when the verification element is brought into register with the security element by folding the security document. It is also possible that the security element and the verification element are configured such that when the verification element covers the security element, they produce a so-called Moiré pattern. By suitably configuring the pattern contained in the verification element or security element, information in the Moiré pattern can be made visible in this fashion. Finally, both the security element and also the verification element can comprise a polarisation element. If the alignment of the plane of polarisation differs suitably from one region to another, information can be made visible in this fashion.
However, with the continually improving copying and forgery techniques at the present time, there is a risk that such flat elements do not offer sufficient security against forgery. Thus, for example, it can be expected that even text applied in microscript can be reproduced using a copier of sufficient resolution. Likewise, the patterns for producing a Moiré pattern can also be reproduced if necessary.
It is thus desirable that the security or verification elements have an even higher degree of security against forgery so that firstly, security documents can be made even more secure against forgery and the verification of authenticity can be more reliable.
This object is achieved using a security system having the features herein, a security element having the features herein, a verification element having the features herein, a security document having the features herein, a readout method having the features herein or a readout device having the features herein.
A security system according to the invention comprises a flat security element arranged in a carrier plane. The security element comprises a hologram carrier which, under incident light, reconstructs a pattern in a holographic fashion which lies outside the carrier plane. Concealed information is stored in this pattern. The security system according to the invention also comprises an at least partially transparent verification element which on flat contact of the security element under incident light makes it possible to read out the information concealed in the pattern produced holographically by the security element.
On or in an object to be secured, e.g., a security document or banknote there is thus a security element at one location. This security element is a hologram carrier. Under the incident light, the hologram contained therein produces an image or pattern displaced with respect to the document to be secured, which can be two-dimensional or three-dimensional. Concealed information is stored in the pattern. This concealed information, which is now located at some distance from the document can be read out using a verification element.
The concealed information is thus not applied directly to the security document as with known security features but is only generated at some distance from the security document in a holographic fashion. The hologram of the security element makes forgery significantly more difficult. In contrast to holograms already used as a security element so far, the information stored in the holographically generated pattern is however, only made visible by the verification element.
In this way very much better protection against forgery is achieved. In addition, the information is not identifiable without the verification element and thus is not copiable.
In an advantageous development of the security system the security element comprises a hologram which produces a phase-modulated pattern under illumination. The concealed information can in this case be stored such that the phase of the light in the region of the concealed information is different to the phase of the surrounding regions of the pattern. The verification element is then configured such that it converts this phase modulation into a visible amplitude modulation. This can be achieved in a known fashion, for example, by the phase contrast method or the Schlieren method.
In a more advantageous development the verification element also comprises a hologram which, under incident light, reconstructs a corresponding pattern which produces an optical light pattern needed to convert the phase modulation into an amplitude modulation.
Another advantageous development of the security system according to the invention comprises a security element which is a hologram which under incident light again reconstructs a line pattern outside the carrier plane. The verification element is also a hologram which produces a line pattern in the same plane outside the carrier plane. The line patterns are configured such that a Moiré pattern is formed in the same way as if two line patterns actually present at the location of the holographically reconstructed line patterns had been brought into register. By suitably configuring the holograms and the line patterns thereby produced, information can be stored in the Moiré pattern which only becomes visible when they overlap.
In another advantageous development of the security system according to the invention, the security element again produces a pattern in a holographic fashion outside the carrier plane under incident light. This pattern is amplitude-modulated such that it cannot be identified with the naked eye. The verification element comprises a lens structure which makes the amplitude modulation visible to the eye when the verification element is superposed on the security element. For example, the lens structure can be a strip lens structure.
In the development the necessary distance between the object to be imaged by the lens structure, in this case the holographically reconstructed pattern of the security element, and the lens structure is achieved by the holographically produced pattern lying outside the lens plane or the contact area between the verification element and the security element. In this fashion a suitable lens structure can be used for verification without this having a thickness necessary to produce this distance. For security documents such as banknotes the thickness should be kept as small as possible. In this respect, this development according to the invention offers the possibility of utilising the advantages of security against forgery using lens structures even on thin security documents.
In another development of the invention, both the security element and the verification element produce a pattern outside the contact area of the verification element and the security element in a holographic fashion under incident light. Both patterns thus produced each carry a different part of the concealed information. Only when the verification element is brought into register with the security element are the two parts of the concealed information reconstructed with the patterns under incident light and made identifiable in their entirety.
Another development of the invention comprises a security element which again reconstructs in a holographic fashion outside the carrier plane a pattern which is polarisation-modulated. The concealed information is in this case produced such that in the region of the information the polarisation differs from that in the surrounding region. The verification element in this development is a polarisation filter with which the different polarisations can be made visible in a known fashion. In this way the concealed information becomes identifiable. Likewise the security element can also produce a light pattern of constant polarisation and the concealed information can be stored in a polarisation-modulated verification element.
In a further development of the invention the security element is again configured such that it reconstructs an amplitude-modulated pattern outside the carrier plane under incident light. This amplitude modulation carries the concealed information. The verification element comprises a grating structure on a window element. By suitably matching the shape of the grating structure and the holographically produced amplitude modulation, a tilting effect can be achieved as a result of the holographically produced distance between the grating structure and the amplitude modulation. Depending on the direction in which the grating of the verification element is viewed, it is possible to see under the lines of the grating structure, for example and the information present there becomes visible. On the other hand when the verification grating structure is viewed perpendicularly, the information visible between the grating lines of the verification element becomes visible. In this way information can be made visible according to the angle of tilt of the superposed elements.
In order to achieve even greater security against forgery, the security element can be configured such that under incident light, it produces a holographically generated pattern which, however, does not have a constant distance from the carrier plane. The verification element must take this circumstance into account by means of suitably matched local frequencies. With such a configuration no information is visible in the plane of the security document. The pattern in which the concealed information is stored is only produced by holographic reproduction. This pattern is not in a plane but has a varying distance from the plane of the security element. This varying distance can only be compensated with the aid of the verification element. In addition, the information is additionally concealed in that it is stored in the holographically produced, non-plane pattern, e.g. is only stored as phase modulation, polarisation modulation or a line pattern to produce a Moiré pattern. In this case, the verification element thus has different tasks. Firstly, it equalises the different distance of the holographically produced pattern from the carrier plane. Secondly, it makes visible the information concealed in the holographically produced pattern.
The holographically produced pattern which is formed on the security element as a result of the incidence of light can have different distances from the carrier plane. Especially advantageous however is the order of magnitude of several 100 μm, more advantageously 100 to 300 μm. In this way a 3D hologram can be produced. Despite the difficulties involved in applying or inserting a hologram onto the rough surface of a banknote, for example, the lack of definition can be kept within tolerable limits for a 3D hologram that produces a pattern at such a short distance from the carrier plane.
The information stored in the holographically generated pattern, which appears as a result of light being incident on the security element can be read out using an external verification element. However, it is especially advantageous if both the verification element and the security element are applied to one and the same security document. By suitably folding the security document, the elements can then be brought into register in order to make the concealed information visible. In this way, it is possible to have a self-verifying system. With a suitable arrangement of elements on the banknotes, the same effect can also be achieved by superposing two banknotes in corresponding alignment.
The pattern reconstructed as a result of the incidence of light on the security element can be virtual or real according to the configuration, i.e. it can be imaged on a screen.
A security element according to the invention for use in a security system according to the invention comprises a hologram structure which reconstructs a pattern with concealed information outside the carrier plane in a holographic fashion under incident light. A verification element for use with a security system according to the invention serves to make visible the concealed information which is reconstructed by a security element according to the invention outside the carrier plane of the security element when light is incident.
The verification element is at least partly transparent. In addition to the structures which serve to make the concealed information visible, the verification element can also have a further security feature. For example, a further hologram structure can be applied which produces another image which is superposed on the concealed information as a background.
A security document according to the invention comprises a security element according to the invention and/or a verification element according to the invention.
In a method according to the invention for reading out information concealed in the pattern reconstructed holographically on the security element under incident light, a verification element according to the invention is brought into register with the security element. If the security element and the verification element are provided on a banknote, for example, it is advantageous if the verification element is brought into register with the security element by folding the document. In this way, verification is possible without the need for further aids.
The security system according to the invention can be configured such that when the verification element and the security element suitably overlap, the concealed information is made visible to the naked eye under suitably incident light. However, an apparatus according to the invention can also be provided which makes verification possible mechanically. Such an apparatus comprises a device which brings the security element into register with a verification element. In this case, the verification element can be part of the apparatus or it can be applied to the object to be verified itself and can be brought into register with the security element by mechanical folding. An illumination device is provided which illuminates the security element and verification elements brought into register. The concealed information thus becomes visible and can be read out with the aid of a readout device. This can, for example, be a brightness detector which can detect brightness differences in the concealed information. Finally, the readout device can be a camera which makes it possible to process the image and evaluate the image of the concealed information.